Emerging Technologies
Saturday, January 12, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia Convention Center (PCC), Room 108A
Topic: Aaron Swartz, co-author of RSS, co-creator of the Open Library project, co-founder of Reddit, and former adviser to Creative Commons, will be sharing his strategies on how to analyze competing technologies. His insights will help us invest in the resources that will best meet our customers' needs. Brought to you by ULS Current Topics Discussion Group.

Heads of Public Services
Saturday, January 12, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Topic: Educating on the Job: Providing an Ongoing Learning Environment for Public
Services Staff. Discussion will center on ways Head of Public Services can provide
training to improve their staff's skill sets, knowledge base and career development.

MLA International Bibliography in Academic Libraries
Saturday, January 12, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Topic: Ideas about modern language and literature bibliography. Product updates and planned enhancements from the MLA representatives and its online vendors

New Members
Saturday, January 12, 4:00- 6:00 p.m.
Topic: Join us to discuss THE issue you wish you had learned in library school: Marketing library services!

Central to the workflows and management of e-resources are bibliographic records. While there is now a general, well-established workflow for e-journals which are, for a large part, represented by standard CONSER records in most systems such as Serials Solutions and SFX, the same is not true for e-monographs and integrating resources (databases). Proposals have been made to guide the creation of records for e-monographs by publishers and vendors, and some proposals are in the making for a provider neutral IR-record. Where are we? What are publishers and vendors doing in this area? After all, source and quality of records impact our decisions, workflows, and management of e-resources.

Walsh will speak on the work she does as a Metadata Librarian for the Ohio State University's Institutional Repository (The Knowledge Bank). In presenting on institutional repository metadata, she will discuss some of the following issues: metadata schemes; crosswalking (for example, harvesting metadata from our library catalog to ingest in our repository using crosswalks); data normalization; harvesting from the viewpoint of shareable metadata; metadata displays and user interfaces; technical and preservation metadata. In particular, she will present how she uses customized metadata displays and user interfaces for individual communities of submitters (author self-archiving) to add a measure of data control in our institutional repository in the interests of both quality metadata and shareable metadata.

The past decade has seen increased interest in and awareness of metadata quality issues relevant to digital library interoperability and the use of harvested metadata. Advice for creating shareable metadata has been presented in several venues, and metadata should be improving in shareable qualities over time. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) analyzed Dublin Core metadata records harvested through OAI-PMH for two metadata aggregations hosted by the UIUC library to determine if metadata are becoming more shareable. Records created over a period of five years were analyzed for quantitative and qualitative changes over time in shareable metadata quality as well as general crosswalking errors, and findings show little change over time. This presentation will focus on harvested metadata, crosswalking, and interoperability of metadata records in an aggregated environment. It will give the audience a concrete data point as to the current state of metadata practice and highlight shareable metadata issues still needing to be addressed by practitioners.

The University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are responsible for providing access to electronic theses and dissertations submitted by students as part of the requirements of the Graduate School. Beginning in Spring 2006, electronic submission of theses was presented as a option to students, and starting in Spring 2008, electronic submission will be mandatory. The University Library and Health Sciences Library traditionally have been responsible for the cataloging of theses, and have continued to hold this responsibility in the electronic realm. The Libraries have developed an online collection to provide access to the electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) as well as continuing to provide access through the catalog. The collection, which resides in CONTENTdm along with many other digital projects, uses an expanded version of Dublin Core to describe the documents.
This presentation will focus on the descriptive metadata standard UNC developed to describe the ETDs, and how that scheme was developed while trying to meet the requirements of a national ETD program, be consistent with other local digital collections’ metadata, and accommodate previous cataloging practice for paper dissertations and theses. It will also go through the process used to map the metadata records into MARC for loading into the catalog, the reasons for choosing to crosswalk from Dublin Core to MARC rather than the other direction, and some of the lessons learned in the mapping process.

ALCTS CCS Cataloging Norms Discussion Group

The ALCTS/CCS Cataloging Norms Discussion Group cordially invites you to join our discussion group at Mid-Winter in Philadelphia to hear three presenters and their discussions of how three cataloging departments faced the challenges of growing interactions between cataloging and digital initiatives and changing norms.

Rebecca L. Lubas, Head of Cataloging & Metadata Services, MIT Libraries
Speaking on: “Creating a Metadata Services Unit at MIT Libraries”
In response to the changing needs of collections and users, the Cataloging Department at MIT created a Metadata Services Unit. We partnered with the OpenCourseWare (OCW) project, an effort to provide course materials for all of MITs courses online, free to anyone with Internet access. OCW has thousands of digital resources that need metadata for better searching and preservation. We participated in the testing and design of the content management system for OCW, and hired a Metadata Production Assistant and a Metadata Librarian. The new unit faced challenges that traditional cataloging work had not before, such as paying customers, evolving best practices, and dependence on non-librarians for bibliographic information. The presentation also addresses how catalogers’ work and responsibilities changed.

Charlene Chou, Catalog Librarian, Columbia University Libraries
Speaking on: “Expanding the Cataloger's Role in the Era of Global Digital Libraries”

In response to the changing demands of next-generation catalogs and global digital libraries, the role of catalogers has been redefined and will change drastically in the coming years. Users need better catalogs. In addition to analyzing current developments, this presentation will give examples of current projects at Columbia University to illustrate how catalogers have used their specialized skills in languages and subject analysis to contribute to the formation of global digital libraries. With the development of Web 3.0 as a reference to the semantic Web, are catalogers ready for the next wave of challenges coming soon?

For many institutions, a key component of their digital library programs is the digitization of regional significant cultural heritage materials for a wider community as well as the academic community. Authority control adds value to a discovery tool and is traditionally performed by catalogers. At ECU’s Joyner Library, we view it as part of our information service to the region to perform authority work on regionally significant names for our digitization program and discovery tools. The addition of digital projects to the traditional library cataloging environment creates a number of challenges for authority control and catalogers to create and ensure a seamless discovery environment, and specifically, a quality federated search function across discovery tools. I will explore how (and why) to meet these challenges and solicit ideas from the audience.

ALCTS Creative Ideas in Technical Services Discussion Group

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 4:00-6:00 pmPhiladelphia Convention Center, Room 111 A/B
We are very pleased to invite your participation as we discuss issues and ideas of importance to Technical Services. Participants will contribute to a breakout discussion on one of the topics listed below. At the end of the discussion period, each group will give a short summary for the benefit of all attendees.

The tentative discussion topics are:

1. Ideas from the report of the Working Group on Bibliographic Control
2. The future role of cataloging in providing access
3. Convincing administrators of the need for new positions in TS
4. Insourcing to technical services
5. Bringing “hidden” or uncataloged collections to light
6. Faceted browsing and public catalogs
7. Electronic Resources Management (ERM)
8. Use of vendor cataloging records and shelf-ready services

We are looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia,
Linda Haack Lomker, Chair, University of Minnesota Libraries
Mary Finn, Vice-Chair, Virginia Tech, University Libraries

Collaborative Digitization Discussion Group
Saturday, 1/12/2008,4-6pm
The Collaborative Digitization Discussion Group, formerly known as "Digistates," meets every ALA to discuss issues related to collaborative digitization efforts on state, regional and local levels. Everyone involved in or considering collaborative digitization projects or programs is invited and encouraged to participate.

Consortium Management Discussion Group
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 4-6pm
"Doing more with less." Members want services, health insurance costs are rising, funding cuts are threatened, staff want (and deserve) raises, and you have to fill out all those reports! Join your library consortia colleagues at the Consortium Management Discussion Group, where we will focus on how library consortia respond to the needs and pressures around us. We invite you to bring your concerns and ideas.

Interlibrary Cooperation Discussion Group
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 1:30-3:30pm
To provide a forum for discussion of interests in interlibrary cooperation and the statewide development of library service, emphasizing the interdependence of all types of libraries.

Physical Delivery Discussion Group
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 8-10am
Explore best practices related to the physical delivery of materials between libraries and delivery directly to patrons. Our goal is to increase and improve high volume, low cost delivery options to libraries. We’ll discuss best practices related to physical delivery, including in-house trucking systems, contracting with courier companies and using national services like UPS or Fed Express. Question: do we want to do an IMLS grant to explore linking existing courier systems?

Virtual Library
Monday, 1/14/2008,10:30am - 12pm
Virtual Libraries and related online library services, including Library 2.0 services, will be the topic of this ongoing discussion. Join us and hear from those who have developed and managed these types of services. Both success stories and the challenges faced by libraries will be covered. All interested library staff are invited to join the discussion.

Academic Libraries Accessibility and Disability Services
Monday, 1/14/2008, 8-10am
Open discussion group for librarians who work with people with disabilities.

LSTA Coordinators Discussion Group
Sunday, 1/13/2008,1:30-3:30pm
Library Services and Technology Act state program managers and Institute of Museum and Library Services officials discuss current issues related to the state grants of this federal program.

Youth Consultants of State Libraries Discussion Group
Tuesday, 1/15/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
Youth services consultants from State Libraries gather to discuss ongoing projects and common issues. Observers are welcome.

The LAMA Diversity Officers' Discussion Group provides a forum for individuals whose job assignments and interests include responsibilities for developing or implementing diversity training and/or diversity awareness programs. We share information and discuss strategies to address common problems in the development of programs for a culturally diverse workforce.

You don’t need to have the title of diversity officer to join us for this meeting -- we welcome all with an interest in diversity to join the discussion. Potential topics include position responsibilities of library diversity officers, recruitment and retention, and residency programs. Other topics and questions may be raised at the meeting.

Member Interest Groups

Virtual Communities and Libraries (VCL)
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 4-6pm
Marriott Hotel, Franklin 10 room
The first official meeting of this member interest group! Anyone interested in this topic is welcome to attend!

Business Reference Services
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
The Business Reference Services Discussion Group is a lively discussion forum of business resources and reference topics. At Midwinter our discussion will be an open discussion on reference topics. This discussion group is open to all registered attendees.

Buenos Negocios ! : Hispanic Market Information Sources

BRASS Publishers’ Open Forum
Monday, January 14, 8-10 am

Join us to learn about studies and products that will help you research the fastest and largest growing population segment in the U.S. Our panelists will be: Lee R. Wentela, Chief, Economic Census Branch, Company Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau; Dr. Max Kilger, Chief Behavioral Scientist, Simmons and Charles Swartz, Chief Technology Officer, SimplyMap. There will be ample time for your questions. We look forward to seeing you.

Dual Assignments
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
The Dual Assignments Discussion Group focuses on current topics which impact collection development librarians that also have other work responsibilities such as Reference, Cataloging, etc. The topic for Midwinter has not yet been selected. This discussion group is open to all registered attendees.

Genealogy & Local History Discussion Group
Saturday: 1/12/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
The Genealogy and Local History Discussion Group is a forum for dialoging about current issues in the family and local history fields that librarians and information professionals face. It is an incubator for future section programs and publication priorities.

Tag You’re It: A Revolution in Patron-Library Interaction
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
PCC (Pennsylvania Convention Center) Room 201 B/C
Hot Topics Discussion Group and Products and Services are cosponsoring this event.
Tagging is the newest way libraries are supporting and encouraging patron interaction with the catalog, user aids, and with the library in general. Speakers will discuss how their library supports the use of social tagging technology and their experience with this new medium.

Virtual Reference
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 4-6pm
The Virtual Reference Discussion Group (VRDG) is a forum for virtual reference librarians to share ideas and practices. It provides an opportunity to hear about current trends and best practices, related by colleagues on the front lines.

Performance Issues for Reference/Information Librarians
Monday, 1/14/2008, 8-10am
A forum for the informal exchange of information and the discussion of common challenges relating to performance issues as well as performance standards and their use in the provision of quality reference services.

Bustin' Loose: Providing Reference Service Away from the Reference Desk
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
There will be an informal discussion on providing reference service away from the reference desk. This includes roving reference, reference service in other campus buildings, kiosks in malls, and virtual reference done away from the reference desk. It is sponsored by the Reference Services in Small and Medium-Sized Libraries Discussion Group.

Reference Services in Public Libraries Discussion Group
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
A discussion on continued relevance in reference: strengthening and improving our services to the community. This is an opportunity to participate with your colleagues in an informal exchange of information and ideas about issues of mutual interest relating to reference services in public libraries of all sizes.
Hot Topics in Frontline Reference
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 4-6pm
Meeting features a guest speaker who will introduce the advertised topic. Group will discuss chosen topic, and if time permits, move on to other issues.

As the definition of reference changes--how do we market it?
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
Join the Marketing & Public Relations for Reference Services Committee in a spirited discussion forum about the implications of marketing reference services, as the definition of reference changes. Be prepared to contribute your ideas and learn from others. The committee will collect these tips and use them and the discussions to inform future programming.

Catalog Use Committee Discussion: Real World Ideas for You and Your Catalog
Sunday, 1/13/2008, 10:30am - 12pm
Participants will gather at tables for discussions. The discussion topics will include: 1.) Pushing the catalog out to users using RSS feeds PDA’s, LibX, WorldCat, and Google. 2.) Web 2.0 and the Catalog, Amazon, LibraryThing, etc. as discovery tools and other web 2.0 enhancements. 3.) Assessment and Usability, information seeking behavior in different age groups

Interlibrary Loan Discussion Group
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 10:30am - 12:30pm
The meeting will include the presentation and discussion of issues regarding the qualifications for interlibrary loan operations management in all types of libraries.

Hot Topics Discussion Group
Saturday, 1/12/2008, 4-6pm
This is a forum for the discussion of timely resource sharing issues in all types of libraries.